If the Swaziland Government cannot pay its wages and salaries from next month (June 2011), this could have far reaching consequences for the southern African region, an analyst has warned.
‘A security threat with regional implications comes when government cannot pay the army, police and the correctional services,’ Manqoba Ginindza, who works at a local investment institution, told the IRIN news agency.
‘The slow deterioration of services we have seen all year will become an abrupt end to all services.’
IRIN reports that the average Swazi wage earner supports 10 individuals, so 100,000 people - one-tenth of the population - would be directly affected if the kingdom’s civil servants were not paid.
If the largest group of wage earners stopped spending or investing, retailers could be left with unsold goods, and banks saddled with delinquent loans. Analysts said the knock-on effects to the economy could be far-reaching.
IRIN reports Swaziland's non-governmental sector is attempting to fill many of the gaps created by poor public service delivery, but the expectation that they will provide more is growing just as donor support for many such organizations is shrinking.
‘When the money runs out government services will stop,’ the CEO of an Mbabane-based NGO, who declined to be named, told IRIN. ‘This means NGOs will be required to do even more to meet the health and social welfare needs of Swazis.’
To read the full IRIN article, click here.
See also
SWAZI ECONOMY PLAN IN TATTERS
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/05/swazi-economy-plan-in-tatters.html
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